File a Complaint About the Seattle Police

The OPA manages complaints involving Seattle Police Department employees who may have violated a policy, procedure or the law. The OPA will document your complaint, investigate it or share it with the appropriate unit within the Police Department to address it. The OPA also investigates complaints made by witnesses or other interested parties.

Complaints can be filed anonymously. The OPA strongly recommends providing contact information because it allows follow-up for additional information that might be crucial to the investigation. The OPA takes complaints regardless of a person's immigration status and never asks complainants or witnesses about their immigration status.

Department policies prohibit retaliation against citizens for making a complaint. Police Officers will not contact you to retaliate in any way.

Ways to File a Complaint About Seattle Police

ONLINE

EMAIL

PHONE

(206) 684-8797

If your call is directed to the voicemail system, please leave a message and a sergeant will get back to you within 48 hours. As our office is not staffed during the weekend, the response time will be longer for messages left over the weekend. If you leave a message between 5pm on Friday and 8am on Monday, a sergeant will get back to you within 72 hours.

IN PERSON

The OPA office is open Monday - Friday from 8am - 5pm. If you come to the office to file a complaint, you will speak with a sergeant about your complaint. The office is located separately from the Police Department Headquarters and separate from the precincts.